Here we see scientists at the UCLA Spinlab having a good time and sharing it with the world. The experiment is as simple as throwing creamer into a tank of water on a turntable. The results are fun to watch and teach us about gyroscopic forces.
Did you know that when half-and-half hits water it creates an “inverted mushroom cloud”? Now you do. When the cream hits the water, the fact that it’s colder and denser lets it drop through the water, hit the bottom, and curl upwards like an upside- umbrella. But when the water is spinning, the creamer does something completely different. It freezes where it fell, staying in columns that seem to hover in the water. They’re held up by the spin.
If you want another look at this, from the top and the side, take a gander at this video — a compilation of all the views of the “plume.”
[Via UCLA Spinlab]
